Parenting Tips

Parenting is one of the most difficult and challenging jobs you will ever do mostly because of the 24/7 nature of the job. The trials and tribulations bring joy and heartache over the years, and just when you think you have it all figured out, your kids move on to the next stage. Even the "experts" don't have all the answers, and here to prove it - a favorite story:

There was a widely respected man who taught parenting classes in his community. He was acknowledged as an expert on the joys and challenges of raising children, even though he himself had none. He called his class "Ten Commandments for Parents".

Then he met a woman of his dreams, married and eventually had a child. He continued teaching the class now called "Five Suggestions for Parentsl"

Soon after he had a second child and renamed the class "Three Tentative Hints for Parents." Finally he and his wife had twins and he stopped teaching the class entirely.

So Much For the Experts!

PARENTING: FOR GROWN UPS ONLY

We need a license to drive, hunt, fish or marry, but anyone can become a parent, qualified or not. The more tools you have, the easier the job. Whether you are in a single parent family, a step-family or a nuclear family, the challenge is to create a strong family that can survive in this ever changing world.

Good parenting involves giving children love, security, stability and nurturing in the healthiest possible environment. A healthy family is build on a solid foundation, one that can withstand the storms and outside forces along the way.

In 3 Steps to a Strong Family (Eyre) the author offers a simple three step program to help make family life more rewarding and less stressful for everyone involved.

3 STEPS TO A STRONG FAMILY

• Create rules that teach, rather than punish
  
• Create a family economy to teach about money and responsibility
  
• Create family traditions and rituals to celebrate your family

SHELLEE DARNELL IS A IS A LICENSED MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPIST IN PRIVATE PRACTICE IN IRVINE, CALIFORNIA. SHE HAS A MASTERS DEGREE IN EDUCATION FROM JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY AND A MASTERS DEGREE IN COUNSELING PSYCHOLOGY FROM PEPPERDINE UNIVERSITY.

Shellee Darnell, M.F.C.C.
20 Corporate Park, Suite 215
Irvine, California 92606
(949) 261 - 8299